We check in with people at each stage of the cash transfer process to see how things are going. Take a look at some of their stories as they appear here in real-time.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($430 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I would like to open a business selling second-hand clothes and I would need a $500 loan from a Sacco. I am in a Sacco that I contribute $0.2 a day
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The staff is very approachable while talking on the phone and whenever they visit us in our village. They are also well-spoken and respectable.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Before the transfer, my children would get sent away due to school fees arrears, which had accumulated to $200. I have a grocery shop and I get $5 a day that helps me buy food and water for my family. My husband does casual jobs and in a week he gets $30 which is mostly used to pay school fees and his transport fare. Previously, I lived in one room house that was not comfortable for the six of us. My children would put the mattress on the ground and sleep which made them have a cold most of the time. Receiving this transfer has enabled me to build a two-roomed house and bought two beds for $80 and paid school fees arrears at $200.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($483 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 10 am when I was cleaning the day's dirty clothes when I received a notification that I had received the first transfer from GiveDirectly as promised. I was very happy and I could no longer continue with the house chores due to the excitement in me. Finally, I would be able to improve my lifestyle as I had planned
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that I have is I can now sleep comfortably after I bought the bed and mattress. I was also able to improve my house with the new iron sheets and new timber pillars that have made my house strong and beautiful looking unlike before
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used most of the money to improve the living conditions in my house. I was able to use Kes 19000 to buy iron sheets as I would now be able to refurbish as the ones I had would leak on rainy days. I also used Kes 15000 to buy a bed and mattress as I was sleeping on the floor and on a very old mattress that was not comfortable. The balance that I have right now I will use to buy some milk-producing goats on the next market day in our village
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
We are a family of 7 and we both depend on my husband for food, clothing, education, and other basic needs in the house. He has a daily income of KES 500 per day which is not enough to support us all. I have always wished to offload some burden off him but lack of job and capital to start a business has not made it easy. My first project with these transfers will be to build a new structure for my family because the current one is in a very bad state and I am afraid if the rain continues we will be left homeless. Building a new house will cost me a total amount of KES 15000, then set aside KES 20,000 for food and save KES 20,000 for my son's school fees.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I thank God in the past six months I have not been taken ill
together with my family and this has brought me happiness.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My current house is almost collapsing and I am afraid if the rain continues my family will be homeless. Living in this kind of structure sometimes gives me sleepless nights and all this has been a result of insufficient finances to build a new house.
